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For five decades Claude Chabrol navigated the unpredictable waters of Cinema, leaving in his wake more than fifty feature films that remain among the most quietly devastating genre movies ever made. Sardonic, provocative, unsettling, Chabrol’s films cut to the quick with a clarity and honesty honed to razor sharpness.
The Swindle (Rien Ne Va Plus) sees Chabrol at perhaps his most playful as a pair of scam artists, Isabelle Huppert and Michel Serrault, get in over their heads. But who is scamming who and who do you trust in a life built on so many lies? The murder of a 10 year old girl sparks rumours and gossip in The Color of Lies (Au Coeur Du Mensonge), as suspicion falls on René (Jacques Gamblin) the dour once famous painter, now art teacher, who was the last person to see her alive. Enigmatic, perverse, seductive, Isabelle Huppert encapsulates everything that makes Nightcap (Merci Pour Le Chocolat) a film John Waters calls “Cinematic Perfection” in this tale of suppressed family secrets. Finally, in The Flower of Evil (La Fleur Du Mal), incest, old money and intergenerational guilt come under the scalpel as an outwardly perfect bourgeois family begins to unravel when the wife involves herself in politics.
Though influenced by Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock and Jean Renoir, Chabrol’s voice was entirely and assuredly his own, influencing in turn filmmakers like Bong Joon-ho, James Gray and Dominik Moll. His amused, unblinkered view of life and refusal to judge his characters makes his films timelessly relevant and accessible to all. Arrow Video is proud to present this second collection of films by Claude Chabrol with a wealth of new and archival extras.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
– High definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all four films
– New 4K restorations of The Swindle (Rien Ne Va Plus), Nightcap (Merci Pour Le Chocolat) and The Flower of Evil (La Fleur Du Mal)
– Original lossless PCM French stereo audio on all films plus DTS-HD 5.1 on Nightcap (Merci Pour Le Chocolat) and The Flower of Evil (La Fleur Du Mal)
– Optional English subtitles
– 80-page collector’s booklet of new writing by Sean Hogan, Brad Stevens, Catherine Dousteyessier-Khoze, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and Pamela Hutchinson
– Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
DISC ONE – THE SWINDLE (RIEN NE VA PLUS)
– Brand new audio commentary by film critic Barry Forshaw and author Sean Hogan
– Chabrol’s “Soap Bubble”, a brand new visual essay by Catherine Dousteyssier-Khoze, author of Claude Chabrol: The Aesthetics of Opacity exploring the games Chabrol plays with his characters and audience
– Film as a Family Affair, Cécile Maistre-Chabrol, the stepdaughter of Claude Chabrol and his Assistant Director on fourteen features discusses his life, work and wisdom in this exclusive new hour plus interview
– Behind the scenes featurette
– Archive interview with Isabelle Huppert
– Archive introduction by film scholar Joël Magny
– Select scene commentaries by director Claude Chabrol
– Theatrical trailer
– Image gallery
DISC TWO – THE COLOR OF LIES (AU COEUR DU MENSONGE)
– Brand new audio commentary by critic Barry Forshaw and author Sean Hogan
– Nothing is Sacred, a brand new visual essay by film critic Scout Tafoya examining the ideas of art and legacy in Chabrol’s The Color of Lies (Au Coeur Du Mensonge)
– What’s Eating Claude Chabrol? a brand new appreciation by film critic David Kalat examining the ways in which Chabrol’s films relate, reflect and refract each other
– Behind the scenes featurette
– Archive introduction by film scholar Joël Magny
– Select scene commentaries by director Claude Chabrol
– Theatrical trailer
– Image gallery
DISC THREE – NIGHTCAP (MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT)
– Brand new audio commentary by film critic Justine Smith
– When I pervert good…, a brand new visual essay by film critic Scout Tafoya which takes a closer look at late period Chabrol through the lens of his masterful thriller Nightcap (Merci Pour Le Chocolat)
– Archive interview with Isabelle Huppert
– Archive interview with Jacques Dutronc
– Behind the scenes featurette
– Screen test for Anna Mouglalis
– Archive introduction by film scholar Joël Magny
– Select scene commentaries by director Claude Chabrol
– Theatrical trailer
– Image gallery
DISC FOUR – THE FLOWER OF EVIL (LA FLEUR DU MAL)
– Brand new audio commentary by film critic Farran Smith Nehme
– Behind the Masks: Remembering Claude Chabrol, a brand new appreciation by Agnès C. Poirier, author of Left Bank: Arts, Passion and the Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950 in which she shares her personal reminiscence of Claude Chabrol and considers his unique position in French culture and cinema
– Behind the scenes featurette
– Archive interview with co-writer Catherine Eliacheff
– Archive introduction by film scholar Joël Magny
– Select scene commentaries by director Claude Chabrol
– Theatrical trailer
– Image gallery
